LASR vs MMM Stock Comparison

Nlight and 3M Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
LASR Nlight, Inc.
$36.71 -9.0% 1M +12.6% 1Y
Market cap
$2.17B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$310.70M
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
3 wins
MMM 3M Co
$172.79 +1.9% 1M +2.5% 1Y
Market cap
$89.07B
P/E
25.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$25.25B
Div. yield
0.02%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

3M leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (3M 6, Nlight 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLASRMMMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.17B $89.07B MMM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -173.8x 25.2x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 69.3x 19.5x MMM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +43.2% +1.7% LASR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -4.0% 14.0% MMM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -3.8% 22.0% MMM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.6x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +12.6% +2.5% LASR
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +6.3%/yr +3.0%/yr LASR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 87.4% 25.6% MMM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 46/100 49/100 MMM

Percentile Scorecard

LASRMMM

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisLASRMMM
Valuation 12 #179 of 203 37 #129 of 203
Growth 98 #5 of 187 59 #77 of 187
Profitability 26 #138 of 185 86 #26 of 185
Financial Health 89 #25 of 219 18 #179 of 219
Shareholder Returns 6 #144 of 153 43 #87 of 153
Overall 46 49
  • LASR ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • MMM ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodLASRMMMSPY
1 month -9.0%+1.9% -0.8%
3 months -45.8%-3.0% +3.5%
6 months -47.6%+18.5% +7.0%
Year to date -2.1%+7.9% +12.2%
1 year +12.6%+2.5% +13.0%
3 years +343.9%+136.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year +64.4%+33.2% +23.1%
5 years +35.8%+15.9% +68.6%
5 years, per year +6.3%+3.0% +11.0%
10 years —+24.1% +258.0%
10 years, per year —+2.2% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureLASRMMMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 87.4%25.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 88.7%24.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.180.69 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.140.10 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -80.5%-53.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -56.8%-6.0% -1.8%
52-week high $84.95$183.81 $779.14
52-week low $28.60$141.20 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleLASRMMM
P/E now vs peer median -167.7xmedian 26.0x 25.4xmedian 26.0x
P/S now vs peer median 6.8xmedian 1.9x 3.5xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -573.6xmedian 14.0x 16.1xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 50.6xmedian 21.4x 33.4xmedian 21.4x
P/B now vs peer median 4.8xmedian 2.2x 21.4xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -3.96median 1.26 0.71median 1.26

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsLASRMMM
Revenue $310.70M $25.25B
Gross profit $97.95M $9.98B
Operating income -$16.99M $4.74B
Net income -$12.48M $3.58B
Free cash flow $41.83M $2.68B
R&D $50.56M $1.21B
EPS (diluted) $-0.22 $6.77
Cash & equivalents $295.76M $4.84B
Total debt $60.00M $15.00B
Shares (diluted) 56.98M 522.60M
Enterprise value $1.26B $70.51B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricLASRMMM
P/E -167.7x 25.4x
P/FCF 50.6x 33.4x
P/Operating cash flow 39.8x 24.6x
P/S 6.8x 3.5x
P/B 4.8x 21.4x
P/Tangible book 4.8x 42.2x
EV/EBITDA -573.6x 16.1x
EV/EBIT -105.1x 20.9x
EV/Revenue 5.7x 3.9x
EV/FCF 42.7x 37.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 33.6x 27.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.96 0.71

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLASRMMM
Revenue growth (1Y) 43.2% 1.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 11.5% 10.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 113.2% -1.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 29.0% 17.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) 67.4% -3.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 33.0% 33.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 73.4% 4.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 37.9% 35.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 76.9% 7.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 42.3% 35.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 587.2% 42.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 119.1% -18.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 311.1% 68.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 65.8% -18.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLASRMMM
Gross margin 31.5% 39.5%
EBITDA margin -1.0% 24.4%
Operating margin -5.5% 18.8%
Pretax margin -3.8% 17.5%
Net margin -4.0% 14.0%
FCF margin 13.5% 10.6%
Operating cash flow margin 17.1% 14.4%
Return on equity -2.9% 101.3%
Return on assets -2.4% 9.8%
Return on invested capital -3.8% 22.0%
Return on capital employed -3.7% 18.7%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -4.3x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 13.8% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLASRMMM
Debt / assets – 37.9%
Debt / equity – 3.6x
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.6x
Debt / FCF – 5.6x
Liabilities / assets 15.0% 89.5%
Equity / assets 85.0% 10.5%
Interest coverage -14.7x –
Current ratio 8.2x 1.4x
Quick ratio 6.9x 0.8x
Cash ratio 6.0x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 16.81 4.10

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLASRMMM
Dividend yield – 1.8%
Net buyback yield -9.2% 3.1%
Shareholder yield -9.2% 4.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 44.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 59.9%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 3.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – -21.4%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusLASRMMM
Forward P/E 69.3xFY2026 19.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.53FY2026 $8.88FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +120.8%FY2026 +10.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +13.2% +16.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $313.28MFY2026 $23.87BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +19.9%FY2026 -1.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +17.9% +17.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLASRMMM
Held by institutions 89.4% 74.5%
Institutions holding 357 2,208
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.4% +0.8%
Institutions buying 220 914
Institutions selling 112 837
Buyers to sellers 1.96 1.09

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

LASRMMM
LASR 1.00 0.11
MMM 0.11 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LASR and MMM?

3M (MMM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Nlight (LASR) $2.17B, 3M (MMM) $89.07B.

Which company is growing faster?

Nlight (LASR) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Nlight (LASR) +43.2%, 3M (MMM) +1.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

3M (MMM) has the highest net margin (Nlight (LASR) -4.0%, 3M (MMM) 14.0%). On return on invested capital, 3M (MMM) leads (Nlight (LASR) -3.8%, 3M (MMM) 22.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nlight (LASR) returned the most: Nlight (LASR) +12.6%, 3M (MMM) +2.5%. Over five years, Nlight (LASR) compounded fastest (Nlight (LASR) +6.3%/yr, 3M (MMM) +3.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Nlight (LASR) 0.00%, 3M (MMM) 0.02%. Nlight (LASR) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, 3M (MMM) has been the steadiest (Nlight (LASR) 87.4%, 3M (MMM) 25.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do LASR and MMM move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.11, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, LASR and MMM?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, 3M (MMM) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.